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Department for International Development

min answer › question first answered

2018-11-19T16:59:13.077Z

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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has
made of the effect of the military offensive on Hodeidah on her Department's aid package
to help (a) screen, (b) prevent and (c) tackle malnutrition in Yemen that was announced
on 16 October 2018.

<p>On World Food Day this year, the UK announced a package of £96.5 million to help
UNICEF continue to tackle malnutrition in Yemen over the coming three years. This
package will screen 2.2 million children under the age of five for malnutrition and
provide urgent treatment for 70,000 of the most vulnerable children.</p><p>The recent
increase in military activity in and around Hodeidah has had a relatively limited
impact on this programme so far, as the programme’s activities are implemented countrywide,
not exclusively in Hodeidah. The continued flow of goods through and onwards from
Hodeidah port, however, will be critical to ensure that humanitarian supplies can
reach those in need.</p><p>In Hodeidah city, stocks of supplies, including nutrition
and fuel are still available thanks to the pre-positioning by UNICEF and its partners.
Efforts are now focused on scaling up lifesaving activities within the humanitarian
response.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment
has her Department made on the effect on the humanitarian situation in Yemen of the
military offensive in Hodeidah port.

<p>The UK continues to raise concerns with the Saudi led-Coalition about the potential
impact of any assault on the port and city of Hodeidah and is monitoring the resumption
of hostilities in and around Hodeidah closely. As we have consistently made clear,
the Coalition must ensure that any further military operations in and around Hodeidah
are conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law and do not disrupt
commercial and humanitarian flows.</p><p>The impact of the violence around Hodeidah
on commercial and humanitarian access is one of the main reasons behind the UN’s warning
of the growing risk of food insecurity in Yemen. We are concerned by reports that
access to the Red Sea mills has been restricted as a result of the latest fighting.</p><p>UK
aid partners continue to deliver life-saving support on the ground as part of our
£170 million response in Yemen this year, including cash transfers to 21,000 people
displaced from Hodeidah, as well as access to 75,000 litres of clean water a day.</p>

<p>The UK government continues to raise concerns with the Saudi led-Coalition about
the potential impact of any assault on the port and city of Hodeidah and is in regular
contact with the Coalition about the need to ensure that any further military operations
do not disrupt commercial and humanitarian flows both through the port and onwards
across the country. To date, Red Sea ports remain operational and continue to import
most of the food and fuel on which Yemenis rely.</p><p>We have consistently made it
clear, the Houthis must facilitate access throughout areas they control which is where
most of the population live.</p><p>As a part of our effort to secure vital access
for food, fuel, and medicine into and throughout Yemen, the UK is also providing £1.3
million to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to give the Saudi-led Coalition
confidence that weapons are not coming in to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on large
commercial ships.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department
has made of the humanitarian needs of the civilians trapped in Hodeidah, Yemen; and
what steps she is taking to help fulfil those needs.

<p>The UK continues to raise concerns with the Saudi led-Coalition about the potential
impact of any assault on the port and city of Hodeidah and is monitoring the resumption
of hostilities in and around Hodeidah closely. The impact of the violence around Hodeidah
on commercial and humanitarian access is one of the main reasons behind the UN’s warning
of the growing risk of further food insecurity in Yemen.</p><p>The UK is supporting
the World Food Programme (WFP) with £35 million to respond to urgent food needs in
Yemen this year. This funding will provide enough cash transfers and food vouchers
to meet the immediate food needs of 4 million Yemenis. In addition, UK funding this
year has helped WFP pre-position enough supplies to feed more than a million families
for a month, as well as over a million litres of fuel to support hospitals and clean
water facilities in Hodeidah governorate.</p><p>UK aid partners continue to deliver
life-saving support on the ground as part of our £170 million response in Yemen this
year, including cash transfers to 21,000 people displaced from Hodeidah, as well as
75,000 litres of clean water a day. Efforts are now focused on scaling up lifesaving
activities within the humanitarian response.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the Government's
policy is on the UK's (a) future membership of and (b) future funding to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and if she will make a
statement.

<p>There has been no change to our membership or funding commitment to UNESCO. The
UK continues to work closely with UNESCO and other member states to ensure it makes
crucial reforms to deliver the best results and value for taxpayers’ money. We make
ongoing assessments of multi-agency performance, consideration of whether Agencies
are providing value for tax payers’ money is an important part of these assessments.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) education and
(b) interfaith initiatives her Department has funded in Pakistan to promote tolerance
and interfaith harmony in schools in each year for which information is available,
and how much her Department has spent on each such initiative.

<p>Since 2011, DFID has benefited 10 million primary and nearly 6 million secondary
students in Pakistan. Inclusion and respect for minorities forms an integral part
of provincial and national education programmes. Our work to promote tolerance and
interfaith harmony includes: training nearly 100,000 teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(KP) and Punjab in equity and inclusion; funding the Alif Ailaan education campaign
which focusses on religious minorities; and engaging with education civil society
organisations to champion issues of inclusion and raise these with government. Through
the KP Education Support Programme (KESP) and the Punjab Education Support Programme
II (PESP II), DFID has also provided technical assistance to provincial governments
to revise the school curriculum and remove discriminatory content from textbooks.
Since 2011, DFID has invested £678.7m in education in Pakistan, including £122.7m
in 2017/18.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information she
holds on the proportion of gross national income that other G8 member states allocate
to official development assistance.

<p>The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance
Committee (DAC) publish statistics on official development assistance (ODA) and ODA
as a proportion of gross national income from DAC donor countries. The latest preliminary
data for 2017 can be accessed with this link: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/development/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-data/ODA-2017-detailed-summary.pdf"
target="_blank">http://www.oecd.org/development/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-data/ODA-2017-detailed-summary.pdf</a>.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department
is supporting the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund initiative in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories; and if she will make a statement.

<p>DFID funded the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories (OPTs) between October 2015 and March 2018, and currently funds the programme
in Jordan and Egypt. DFID continues to monitor the sustainability and impact of AWEF
in the OPTs.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether funding from
her Department has been used in financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19
to support humanitarian assistance programmes in areas of Syria controlled by the
Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham militia .

<p>The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response providing life-saving and
life-changing support for millions of people across Syria, including those living
in Northwest Syria where Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is present.</p><p>In 2016/17
and 2017/18, DFID spent £205 million and £152 million respectively on humanitarian
projects in Syria. In 2017/18, over a third of this was delivered cross-border from
Turkey, mostly to Idlib governate in Northwest Syria, where in 2017 we reached over
600,000 people in need. For 2018/19, DFID plans to spend £174 million for life-saving
support in Syria.</p><p>While we acknowledge that working in fragile and conflict-affected
countries carries risks, DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure
that tax payers’ money is used appropriately and effectively, that UK aid reaches
those who need it most and that it does not benefit extremist groups such as HTS.
Our programmes are delivered by trusted NGO and UN partners with proven expertise
and track records. We do not provide funding unless these organisations can assure
DFID that it will not benefit extremists. All our assistance is monitored robustly,
and DFID will withdraw support if there is a reason to believe UK tax payer’s money
may be at risk. For example, in September 2018, DFID took the precautionary measure
to pause all cross-border assistance at Bab Al Hawa in Northwest Syria, while we investigated
concern around whether HTS collected fees from trucks delivering humanitarian aid.
Whilst this situation was swiftly resolved, it demonstrates the robust approach we
take to these matters, and are working with other donors to mitigate the risks of
a similar situation reoccurring in the future.</p><p>As with other DFID programmes,
our work in Syria remains under subject to regular review and close scrutiny, both
through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office
and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, which last examined DFID’s Syria humanitarian
programmes in May 2018.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will ask the National
Audit Office to investigate whether funding from her Department has been diverted
in financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19 to support the activities
of the Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham militia.

<p>The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response providing life-saving and
life-changing support for millions of people across Syria, including those living
in Northwest Syria where Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is present.</p><p>In 2016/17
and 2017/18, DFID spent £205 million and £152 million respectively on humanitarian
projects in Syria. In 2017/18, over a third of this was delivered cross-border from
Turkey, mostly to Idlib governate in Northwest Syria, where in 2017 we reached over
600,000 people in need. For 2018/19, DFID plans to spend £174 million for life-saving
support in Syria.</p><p>While we acknowledge that working in fragile and conflict-affected
countries carries risks, DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure
that tax payers’ money is used appropriately and effectively, that UK aid reaches
those who need it most and that it does not benefit extremist groups such as HTS.
Our programmes are delivered by trusted NGO and UN partners with proven expertise
and track records. We do not provide funding unless these organisations can assure
DFID that it will not benefit extremists. All our assistance is monitored robustly,
and DFID will withdraw support if there is a reason to believe UK tax payer’s money
may be at risk. For example, in September 2018, DFID took the precautionary measure
to pause all cross-border assistance at Bab Al Hawa in Northwest Syria, while we investigated
concern around whether HTS collected fees from trucks delivering humanitarian aid.
Whilst this situation was swiftly resolved, it demonstrates the robust approach we
take to these matters, and are working with other donors to mitigate the risks of
a similar situation reoccurring in the future.</p><p>As with other DFID programmes,
our work in Syria remains under subject to regular review and close scrutiny, both
through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office
and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, which last examined DFID’s Syria humanitarian
programmes in May 2018.</p>